Raised beds

[Laurasanford111]

Hi all

I have two raised beds, this year they have housed cosmos and dahlias... The cosmos however have not been great... So bushy with hardly any flowers, I did have sweet peas with them until I ripped them out and I read that if you have been feeding sweet peas it doesn't help the cosmos as they like porer soil... Anyhow, I want these beds as mostly cut flower beds and they need to look pretty as they're next to our table and chairs. What do you have in your raised beds for kind of all year round interest?

I also want some plants to spill over the sides, to make it look a bit more effortless, at the moment it looks quite structured hard edges etc. I love the cottage garden look

Thank you in advance x

Regarding your cosmos, it does sound like the soil might be too good for them? Give them a bit of time, they might start flowering.

The problem with cut flower beds is they don't look good all the time - like a veg patch, they're traditionally just for 'harvesting', so just when they're starting to look good you would want to cut all the flowers. However I would recommend lots of cut and come again flowers, like the cosmos, and dahlias are great this time of year.

You could put some bulbs in over the autumn, and put some winter bedding plants in over the top? If you're quick you could sow some hardy annuals in one of the beds now, they will look good in late spring/early summer after the bulbs have finished. In the spring you could sow your half-hardy annuals like cosmos in a greenhouse or cold frame, then once the hardy annuals have finished you can swap them around?